Comics for learning have a
long history of telling stories to teach concepts and processes. A one-page
comic scene can describe a complex process, or a comic scenario with characters
and dialogue can help explain more difficult situations by telling a story.
Unfortunately, L&D professionals often discard the idea of using the comic
medium in adult learning, seeing it as either an unacceptable medium or too
costly both in time and budget. These misconceptions can lead you to bypass an
effective medium for learning.

Recent evidence supported by
research shows adults retained more information from a comic than from a
text-only version of the same content, and they recalled the information at a
higher percentage. In this session, you will explore and discuss the research
into what makes for an effective learning comic, the difference between a
printed vs. digital comic, and the effective uses of the emerging interactive
graphic novel. Having evidence-based knowledge about comics will give you a
better understanding of how to use comics in your organizational learning
efforts, and give you the evidence you need to get others to buy in to this
approach.

In this session, you will learn:

About recent
evidence and research on the effectiveness of comics for learning

How comics are
used in performance support initiatives

About using the
comic medium to mitigate complex and sensitive topics

About the
emergence of interactive graphic novels in the L&D industry

Audience:

Novice to intermediate
designers and managers.

Kevin Thorn

Chief NuggetHead and Owner

NuggetHead Studioz

Kevin Thorn is an award-winning eLearning designer with over
30 years’ experience in the training industry, with the last
decade in eLearning. After retiring from the Army as a trainer,
Kevin earned a technology management degree in pursuit of
an IT career. When his interest in technology meshed with his
passion for training, he found a new career in eLearning.
Kevin’s experience in instructional design, storyboarding,
eLearning development, LMS implementation, illustration,
graphic design, storytelling, cartooning, and comics provides
an awareness and knowledge to successfully work any
eLearning project from cradle to grave.